10U in St. Francis

10U LAKERS  ACCEPTS BERTH TO MINNESOTA STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
 
Thunder Bay Lakers U10 Baseball program is comprised of players from throughout the city. Over the weekend they played in the St. Francis Summer Classic tournament in Minneapolis, MN. Opening game jitters and rainy wet conditions Saturday morning played a huge role in their 9-0 loss to the host team St. Frances Saints. The Lakers had to quickly regroup as they played Blaine in their next game immediately following the loss. Despite the annoying drizzle, the game went back and forth with the Lakers pulling off a 1 run victory (11-10) to end their first day of play. The team battled hard and you could see their confidence building. They capped off their day with a team building event at a Twins game at Target Field. This included a 30 minute rain delay which featured the team showing off their dance moves on the Jumbo-Tron.  Lots of laughs and a true bonding moment that the kids will have forever.

Sunday started with a bright sunny sky and warm temperatures. The Lakers took to the field with confidence as their bats exploded, downing Lake Forest 16-1 in the first qualifying game. The semi finals brought strong winds, stronger defence and consistent bats as the Lakers put away Elk River in a convincing 11-2 win. It was apparent these boys were now playing as a team. This victory brought a chance for redemption as the Lakers would face the host, St. Francis Saints, again. The heavily favoured Saints hadn't had a close game all weekend. As temperatures soared so did the Saint's bats opening the game with 3 runs in the first. The Lakers battled hard and eventually tied the game in the 4th.  You could see the frustration and emotions showing on the Saints players and coaches.   This was not the same Lakers team they wiped the field with the day before.  The Lakers capitalized on this and surprised the Saints, who had not trailed in a game all weekend, and took a 1 run lead going into the bottom of the 6th. The scorching heat, high emotions and a couple of Lakers errors helped the Saints tie it up. With 2 outs and bases loaded a passed ball would seal the Lakers fate losing their chance at redemption. 

Second place isn't the only thing these U10 Lakers accomplished. Their strong performance earned them a berth into the Minnesota State Championships. This group of individuals really came together as a team and demonstrated what the Lakers program is all about. Development in skills both on and off the field. 

The Lakers team heads to Egan Mn the weekend of June 25, 26 befo